March is almost here, which means the NCAA Tournament is right around the corner. We all know how fast the tournament feels like it goes once it begins, and with the WNBA Draft set to happen very soon after the national title game, that means the draft will be here in the blink of an eye as well.
Most people agree Paige Bueckers is the No. 1 prospect in this class, something that's been true from the moment Caitlin Clark declared for the 2024 draft and Bueckers stayed in school. But while the top prospect spot hasn't changed, some players have played their way into better draft positions during the course of the season.
Here are four WNBA Draft prospects whose stocks have gone up the most this season, including a pair of teammates who have their team in championship contention.
Olivia Miles - G - Notre Dame
ESPN's first mock draft back in September had Notre Dame point guard Olivia Miles mocked at the No. 5 spot, but her play this season has universally led to her skyrocketing up to the No. 2 slot. I've even seen one mock that has her going ahead of Bueckers, something I don't agree with, but I can see where that's coming from.
Miles has always been really good at the playmaking part of being a point guard. In her first full season, she averaged 7.4 assists per game, second-best in the nation. She's one of the best facilitators we've seen in recent memory, but there were concerns that she didn't have the scoring ability to really make her game work at the next level. We've seen a lot of pass-first point guards in the WNBA who never developed much as scorers and weren't able to reach their peak. I'm thinking of someone like Brittany Boyd, who was a great college point guard at Cal and was a first round pick in 2015 by the Liberty. She stuck around the league until 2021, but her lack of shooting kept her from putting it all together.
That could have been Miles, but then she went out this year and showed massive improvement with her shot. After never shooting over 30% from deep, Miles is at 42.1% this year on a career-high 5.6 attempts per game. It could just be a one-year blip, but that level of volume sure makes it feel like a real development to her game, and it's made her go from a mid-first player with upside to a top lottery pick who should be one of the W's best point guards.
Sonia Citron - G - Notre Dame
We don't have to go far for our next player, as it's Miles' fellow Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron.
Heading into the year, Citron was maybe a first rounder. Now, many people view her as the clear No. 3 player in this class, someone who won't be as big of a star as Bueckers and Miles but who can be an excellent three-and-D wing at the next level.
Citron is actually averaging fewer points per game this season than last year, but I think part of what's shot her up draft boards is that people are recognizing that she continues to do very good things on the basketball court just like she's done every year she's been at Notre Dame. It's just that with the Irish more in the spotlight this year, more people get to watch Citron do it.
The Notre Dame wing is shooting 37.5% from deep while averaging 2.0 steals per game. She's one of just nine players to average those two numbers while also taking at least four shots from deep per game.
Aziaha James - G - NC State
Aziaha James has spiked up draft boards in her fourth season at NC State
It's not necessarily that she's doing things she hasn't done before. Her numbers are improved from last year, but the biggest thing here is that James has proven her 2023-24 numbers weren't a fluke. After playing mostly in a reserve role for her first two seasons, James averaged 16.8 points per game last season, taking over as the Wolfpack's top scorer.
James has continued that this season. While her efficiency from deep is still a work in progress, James is elite when it comes to scoring inside the arc. Per CBB Analytics, James shoots 50.6% on midrange shots, which is 17.3% above the Division I average. She also shoots 51.4% in the paint and 66.7% at the rim. She can get downhill and create her own shot, which has propelled her into first-round talks.
She'll have to work on her shooting from deep to work as an off-ball guard in the WNBA, but James has all the right tools to be a very good professional player.
Makayla Timpson - F - Florida State
I didn't mean for this list to be so ACC heavy, but it's been a good year for WNBA prospects who play in the ACC, I guess!
Unlike the three names above, Makayla Timpson likely won't be drafted in the first round in April, but she should be one of the first names read off in the second round.
Timpson is averaging a career-high 17.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game for the Seminoles while also adding in 1.9 steals and 3.3 blocks per game. That block number ranks third in the country and she is one of only two players to average at least 1.5 steals and 3.0 block per contest.
If Timpson was a couple inches taller, we'd likely be talking about her as a first-rounder, but she's a great fit for the fast-paced FSU system. She should be able to stick in the WNBA as a bench big who can make plays when a team wants to play small. She has the toughness to hold up for stretches against some of the top centers in the league, though she might be better off working on her shooting to play the four.